Hi, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab...
Aside from the official trailer, I haven’t seen a frame of this film so far. I hven’t seen the ComicCon footage, but I have had it aggressively spoiled for me, which is a bit disheartening. As a result, I’m not going to read the following reviews. I’m just offering some more reactions from what seem to be an infinite number of early showings of the film.
First up, we’ve got Mr. Winston’s take on things:
Just got out of the BORAT press screening at Century City here in LA. I've never been compelled to write a review before. I am now compelled. You should know the details of this one already, so I'll stay away from the slight "plot" that's involved and for your own benefit I'm going to be quite vague - no spoilers. This is not a movie you want spoiled. I'm dead serious. If you never avoid spoilers...avoid them for this one. Just trust me. Trust. In me.
To say I "had much excite" to see this movie would be an understatement. To say I had high expectations would be an even bigger understatement. After becoming a big fan of DA ALI G SHOW, I was prepared to be extremely upset if this one didn't deliver.
I'm still wrapping my head around it, but I can say this: I've laughed hard at movies. I've laughed pretty consistently at movies. ANCHORMAN, WEDDING CRASHERS, 40 YEAR-OLD VIRGIN to name a few recents - laughed like crazy.
But I've never laughed consistently, without stop, for 80+ minutes like I did tonight. I've never nearly choked on my own delight. I've never walked out of a theater with my hips hurting because I was constantly squirming in my seat. I've never laughed so hard that I made myself sweat unnaturally. I've never hit strangers on the shoulder without thinking about it because I didn't know what else to do. I've never turned around in my seat because I thought I couldn't bear to watch what was happening on the screen, only to force my body to contort and my neck to crane at inhuman angles so I could see anyway.
Call me a Plant if you like - and I'm sure some of you incredible douchebags in the Talkback will do so - but I did all of that tonight. And because of that I have to say this, and I don't want anyone to think this is hyperbole or melodrama or sarcasm, but...America, on the whole, is not ready for this. People will think they're walking into something that's going to be offensive and funny.
They'll actually be walking into something that makes you realize that the REAL person playing Borat, Sascha Baron Cohen, likely put his life and the life of those around him in jeopardy on a daily basis. He's set a new bar for mockumentary, for hidden camera hijinks, for fake interviews, for general contained hysteria. He's set a new bar for comedy in general.
The movie starts in Kazakhtstan and we're introduced to Borat's town. One of the most insanely offensive jokes is introduced early; let's just say it's a rather not-PC take on a famed Spanish pasttime that will have you rolling - even if the joke's on you. From there Borat and a producer friend travel to America and tomfoolery occurs, blah blah and etcetera etcetera.
People...if you're a free-thinking American, if you have any sense of logic, if you possess even a morsel of a soul, you are going to be very, very, afraid for this country. There are jokes that Cohen pulls out of his hat simply to be a jackass and to make normal people appear stupid, to make people uncomfortable, and to generate belly laughs. If you liked Borat on DA ALI G SHOW, you're going to dig it here. It's all hilarious. There's a scene on a New York subway that left me literally in tears, and this is ten minutes into the film. I still can't believe he didn't get shanked. Cohen either has no fear whatsoever or he is BEGGING someone to kill him. Brutally.
I'm not going to tell you this is an important film - it's not, and it'd be pretentious to say otherwise - but I think it's going to make people who see it think hard about our idea of "America" and what it's all about. Some of these people and the things they say, knowing they're going to be on camera...it's mind-boggling. You'll be laughing, but you'll be laughing in shame at an old man at a rodeo, at a bunch of Frat guys in a Winnebago, at a dinner party of the supposed "elite-mannered". In fact, you won't be able to stop laughing, but deep down inside you're going to feel ashamed at the picture this movie paints of "normal" or "Middle" America (and yes, I am in fact going for the world record in "quotation usage" - see the movie and you'll understand). And the worst part of it all is that it's not some smarmy foreigner coming into America and making a Michael Moore-style portrayal of all things bad, a skewed perspective that's half propoganda. There are no forced confessions here. There are just some people that are that terrible. So you'll feel remorse...but you'll also revel in the fact that they get exploited. There are a couple very bad people who are likely to have their lives ruined when this thing hits wide, and I have to tell you that I'm really pretty excited about that.
But that's part of the beauty here - the way Cohen arranges these embarassments and gags and skits is so inherently ridiculous that you can't hold back the glee and you can't focus on the parts that really are kind of sad. It's absurd in the most absurd way you could imagine. There's pushing the envelope, and then there's setting the envelope on fire, pouring gasoline onto it, tying the burning paper onto a bat and then hitting someone in the face with it.
Nothing is sacred, and again, you get the feeling that while most of the jokes were done simply to generate comedy, more than a few were done to prove a point - not just about Americans per se, but about ignorant people in general. Borat tackles the South (again), religion, celebrity, patriotism, male frontal nudity, prostitution, driving schools, anti-semitism (shocker there), racism, and gypsies. The only real problem I had with the way the movie evolved and moved along was that there were so few breaks in between skits and so many jokes strung into one screwball antic; I found myself missing several jokes at once, and frankly I think it might be a help to the audience if there were constant subtitles so one could discern what was being said through the laughter. I have no idea how Cohen and the people who were in on the gags were able in any way to keep straight faces.
There's one part in particular I WANT to talk about, and pretty much everyone knows about it now so it feels safe. That's right - the naked male wrestling through the hotel. The problem is that it's not something that can be talked about. There's nothing you could explain to someone that does any perfect second of it justice; there are no words that you could produce that would make someone understand. I'm not even going to bother, and even if I wanted to bother I guarantee I couldn't put my feelings into English. I will say this, however: I don't know how they're going to possibly keep the whole scene and get an "R" rating. It just seems impossible. And that's a DAMN shame, because the parts that will be cut out, I've become convinced, are the funniest moments ever to be projected onto a screen in the history of man. It's been spoken about; it has been agreed to by several. I even knew what was supposed to have happened and I still wasn't ready for the way it unfolded. I'm going to stop because I'm getting frustrated at my inibility to communicate how funny it was. It transcended funny.
As did the rest of the movie, and if I hope anything, it's that those of you reading this will take me seriously and not hold it against me that I've left out spoilers. You must see this movie when it comes out in November. Expect Midwestern theaters to refuse to show it and some kind of controversy to erupt via a bunch of ignorant, unaware rednecks. I think there are going to be SCORES of people that will detest and attempt to vomit all over this film in the tainted name of morality and patriotism, but you pay them no nevermind. They're only going to make this more popular. Anticipate November eagerly.
On a random celebrity note, Brittany Murphy sat not too far in front of our group in the Press section of the theater, happily eating popcorn and chatting. It was only then that I cursed the promoters for disallowing my camera phone into the screening. Had they, I'd have undeniable proof for all of you that yes, Ms. Murphy does in fact eat.
If you guys use this, please refer to me as Mr. Winston.
Next up in Bruno Diaz with his quick reaction:
I just saw a free screening in L.A. of the Borat movie. I like! It is very good! Whether or not you already know who Borat is or are familiar with Sasha Cohen, you will probably find it hilarious and/or extremely offensive. There have been a few news stories that have leaked out in relation to this film over the past couple of years, one of which relates to a rodeo at which Cohen was nearly killed. That scene is in this movie. I don't want to ruin it for anyone so I'm not going to provide a lot of spoilers other than to emphasize that it is not in any way for the easily offended. People often say that about other movies and I don't think those movies have earned that warning. This one does. Seriously, if you're sensitive about any number of issues (anti-Semitism, feminism, homosexuality, and xenophobia) you'll be offended. For this reason, I think the movie is a great success! Sorry, I can't help myself.
If you've seen the trailer, you should know the basic premise of the movie: Borat comes to America from Kazakhstan to do his reportings. The story once he gets to the U.S. morphs into something sort of comparable to Dumb and Dumber. It's effective at giving enough of a plot to string all of the bits together. If you've watched a lot of Borat on HBO and Youtube, you will see some situations that are pretty familiar. Others are not familiar and if they are to you, than, good for you, whatever you're into, that's cool. I could criticize the movie by saying it was a little heavy in ripping on the South and rednecks. Not that I care about rednecks or that I'm in any way sensitive to their feelings, I just always like it when Borat is faced with people who are more liberal, or who like to think of themselves that way. He really pushes their buttons to see what their threshold is and that's when I feel he's the funniest. They (and I consider myself a liberal) like to think of themselves as tolerant and welcoming, but then they're met with a guy who draws a picture of slaughtered Uzbeks (like in the HBO show) and says that makes him happy. That makes me laugh. But I'm nitpicking. This movie is fucking hilarious. I'm not a plant, I just liked it. Not love, like, but like very much. Jagshemash!
Call me Bruno Diaz.
Finally, it appears that BORAT has driven this final guy completely insane, and his review reflects that:
BORAT
I want to romance his privates. I made shit in my pants. Kevin Smith....Clerks 2 was funny. But you need to get on your knee's and blow BORAT. He is your fuck god you fat homo man.
If you saw the Ali G movie and thought it was shit....you were right. It has moments of funny but lost everything that made Ali G funny on the TV show. The essence of what the comedy was wasn't there. It was all scripted. No real people. No real reactions. Apparently Sasha figured that out this time around.
Ali G movie = Steamed Wigger Shit
Borat = Bronzed Foreign Fucktastic Comedy Gold
From the start that movie had me and the rest of the audience hooked. I would say 88% of the movie is REAL...real people in real situations with Borat. It is amazing to watch a movie like this. I am a reality TV junky...I find it funnier than anything a Hollywood script writer can write. Surreal Life is a great example....who would script Mini Me...driving a fucking tricycle around a hollywood mansion, naked, drunk, and babbling incoherently. Then pissing in a corner of a room while Greg Brady watches. Greg then has to tuck him in. If you like that sort of surreal take on reality. Then you will love Borat. From start to finish the audience was hooked. I cried a few times I was laughing so hard. The movie dosen't let you breath.
My only problem with the movie is that the whole time I was trying to figure out who was real and who was in on the joke. Hopefully on the DVD they will have a shot breakdown or commentary talking about the people in the movie. That element kinda took me out of the movie. But worth it and minor.
My only fear is that this movie will make Sasha to big a star. He might suffer the Tom Green curse. When Tom Green first came on the scene...he was funny. Funny cause he did all this crazy shit to everyone and no one knew who he was. Once everyone learned who he was...his bits just sucked. If this movie is HUGE...which it should be. I fear Sasha's face will become to well known for him to pull his brand of humor. He might actually have to go to butt fuck Kazichstanzan (sp?) for reals just to get away from his celebrity.
As Neil Cumpston said about X-men 2. Shit meet pants. You are going to love Borat.
Thanks. I’m itching to lay eyes on this film as soon as possible. Between this and JACKASS 2, this should be an outrageous fall for film comedy.
"Moriarty" out.
